Shogun 2: Total War
Total War: Shogun 2 Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is the latest installment in the Total War series and returns to the 16th century Japan setting of Shogun: Total War. The game was released on 15 March, 2011. Scenario Shogun 2 is set in 16th-century feudal Japan, in the aftermath of the Ōnin War. The country is fractured into rival clans led by local warlords, each fighting for control. The player takes on the role of one of these warlords, with the goal of dominating other factions and claiming his rule over Japan. The standard edition of the game will feature a total of eight factions (plus a ninth faction for the tutorial), each with a unique starting position and different political and military strengths.[2][3] Moving away from the European setting of other 3D Total War games, the developers are making significant changes to core gameplay elements of Shogun 2. For example, to reflect the characteristics of East Asian warfare, the game's AI is designed on the principles of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Also, compared to Empire which spanned almost the entire globe, the new instalment is set to focus on the islands of Japan and on a reduced number of unit types. Shogun 2 Multiplayer: Origins Originally, Electronic Arts hosted the multiplayer for Shogun Total War. There were two separate servers; one for Shogun Total War, and one for Warlord Edition. In the foyer, players had their points next to their names. These points were called honor. A player started with 100 honor. Based on winning or losing, the player gained or lost honor. In order to prevent an expert from playing a lot of beginners and gaining a lot of honor, an expert who had 49 more honor points than the beginner would lose points even if he beat that beginner. The honor system was implemented to make the multiplayer more fun and challenging. If players wanted to play without a change in honor points, then the host could simply set the game to 'friendly' mode. The Shogun servers had many players when EA hosted them. Role-playing was very popular and this period is considered by many fans as the best and most nostalgic. The battles themselves were very fast-paced, unforgiving to mistakes and highly reliant on individual skill both in army selection and, above all, army control. In Shogun, any army could win over another using clever, fast and precise strategies. In later Total War games, army selection was given more importance. This is the reason why many fans still refer to Shogun as the purest and most skillful of the Total War games. Before Rome: Total War was launched by Activision, EA shut down both the Shogun Total War and the Warlord Edition servers. The players turned to the other Total War series, while the new players avoided the Shogun series. Some players wanted to return to Shogun Total War. They hosted their own servers where players could join without registering.